Christopher Hetzel is passionate about history. As architectural historian at Jones & Stokes, one of the largest environmental consulting firms on the West Coast, he focuses on the preservation of historical sites.

He works on a program that provides federal funding to help low-income residents bring older buildings up to code.

“I consult on these projects, helping determine whether the property is historic and ensuring that it is preserved,” Hetzel said.

Hetzel was recently commissioned by the Echo Park Historical Society and drafted a nomination for the park to be designated as a cultural historic site. He also collaborated on the South Seas House in the West Adams District. The project was a conversion of a picturesque gabled house into a community center.

Hetzel earned his bachelor’s degree in history and minor in art history at Washington University in St. Louis. He went on to get his master’s in public history and historic preservation at Middle Tennessee State University.

He moved to California with his wife in 1999. Prior to joining Jones & Stokes, he was historic preservation consultant at the Historic Resources Group in Hollywood.

Hetzel maintains a personal side project, his Web site preservela.com. He launched the site in 2003.

“A lot of people in Pasadena don’t know what’s going on in Santa Monica,” he said. “We’re one big community. We should talk to each other.”

Hetzel lives in Burbank with his wife and three cats. In his free time, he works with computers and on his Web site. He loves being outdoors, going to museums, traveling, and is an explorer at heart.